Debilitate meaning

dĭ-bĭl'ĭ-tāt'
To debilitate is defined as to weaken, make ill or destroy.

When an illness wears you down and makes you ill, this is an example of a time when the illness debilitates.

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To sap the strength or energy of; enervate.
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To make weak or feeble; enervate.
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To make feeble; to weaken.

The American Dream suffered a debilitating effect after the subprime crisis.

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Origin of debilitate

Latin debilitatus, past participle of debilitare (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective debilis (“weak”), from de- + habilis (“able”).

Sentence Examples

  • It is expected that the illness will debilitate him for at least another week.

  • The self-defense class taught how to debilitate an attacker in any dangerous situation.

  • A scientist recently discovered a drug that can quickly debilitate the growth of cancer cells.

  • The new information released on the political scandal would debilitate his chances of being re-elected.

  • The drought is expected to debilitate plant growth, so this year will have a smaller harvest than normal.

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Words near debilitate in the Dictionary